Chapter 27

Ray

My eyes fluttered open. All I could see was the sky, half of it covered in clouds, half of it sparkling with stars. I could see the Draco constellation. My symbol.

I tried to get up, and then quickly changed my mind. I had a splitting headache. My skull throbbed in a steady rhythm, matching my heartbeat. I scrunched my eyes as I waited for the pain to slowly pass.

“You’re going to want to take it easy for a while.” I recognized that voice. I turned my head and saw Mark, slouching on a motorcycle. I didn’t know he owned a motorcycle. He gazed down at me, looking bored. “Looks like you got hit hard.”

“How long have I been out?” I cringed. My head hurt when I spoke.

“Half the day,” he answered. “The sun just barely set. I found you a couple minutes ago. You’re about a mile out of the city. Good thing I saw you soaring this direction.”

I reached my hand into my pocket and sighed in relief when I felt my red Star Stone there. I stoked my powers. My headache didn’t disappear, but it was definitely more bearable with my powers on. I slowly sat up and took in my surroundings. I’d been lying in a small, man-made crater. The ground was muddy from the rain. Desert shrubs surrounded us in every direction. Mark had to have gone off road to find me. The city glowed a mile away.

Mark straightened his posture, gripping his motorcycle’s handlebars. “So, tell me what happened. You obviously lost the fight.”

I glared at him. “I didn’t lose,” I croaked, my voice feeling raspy. “There was an interference. It wasn't fair. I would’ve beat him if it weren’t for that what’s-her-face-new-girl.”

I told him about my fight with Stoner. Mark spoke up when I told him about the crazy balls of light coming out of Stoner’s hands.

“He tapped into his Second Degree,” he said, scratching his beard. “Good thing he didn’t know how to use it. The Orion Starling is very dangerous in his Second Degree.”

“Didn’t look dangerous to me,” I said. “Just a fancy light show.”

Mark scoffed at that but didn’t say anything as he looked off into the distance.

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“I’m pretty sure I reached the Second Degree too. My hands literally caught on fire. I actually threw a huge fireball at Stoner.”

Mark’s expression turned serious. “I told you to bring him to me alive. Were you trying to kill him?”

“No. I didn’t mean to…. I was just so angry. I couldn’t stop myself.”

He rolled his eyes and huffed with a sigh. “I don’t want you to kill him. Not yet anyway. You’re improving quickly, but you still haven’t mastered the Second Degree. With some training, you’ll be able to tap into it on a whim.”

“Sweet.” I honestly looked forward to that training a lot more than I had before. There was a noticeable shift in my powers when I’d reached the Second Degree. I’d felt on fire! (Pun intended). The burning sensation in my gut had shifted to another level, like a volcano erupting within me. I didn’t know that I could chuck fireballs, but in the moment, it’d felt like pure instinct.

“So, who was it who interfered?” Mark asked.

“It was the new girl,” I explained. “I think her name is Angela. She apparently has powers too. Another Starling.”

Mark’s eyes widened.

“I threw my fireball at Stoner,” I said, “and then all of a sudden she was there. And she blocked my fireball with some sort of force field. A force field made out of glass-looking wings. It was weird. And then she hit me hard with them. At least I think so. It’s all a little fuzzy. I blacked out after that.” I rubbed my temples, trying to soothe my headache.

Mark leaned forward on his motorcycle with his mouth half open. He looked shocked, like he just found out his best friend had died or something. “It’s her…” he said under his breath.

I groaned as I made my way to my feet. My head throbbed the whole way up. I was thirsty. And hungry. And sore. And tired. “What do you mean, ‘it’s her?’”

He didn’t answer. I don’t think he even heard me. He looked deep in thought, like he was making a plan of some kind.

“So, that explains where the third Star Stone went,” I said. “She must’ve picked it up. Probably the same night Stoner found his stone.”

Mark shook his head but kept his gaze on the Tucson lights. “No… someone else has the third Star Stone.”

“What? How do you know?”

“Because I met the person who has the third Star Stone today. And it’s not her.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Wait. What?”

“He found me,” Mark said. “He’s been watching me train you. He decided to approach me today for the first time. He’s a quick learner. Nearly mastered his Second Degree on his own.”

So many questions bounced around my mind, it made my head hurt. Or maybe that was just my headache. “What? You’re training someone else? Who is he? What can he do?”

“I don’t think you even know him.” He still wasn’t looking at me. He seemed half in the conversation as he gazed at the city, his dark eyes darting back and forth. Something about the news about the new girl made him go all trippy.

“So, if this guy you met had the third stone,” I said, “then… how did New Girl get her powers?”

Mark kicked down on his motorcycle, its engine roaring to life. “It's Alexandria,” he said, determination in his eyes.

“No, I’m pretty sure her name is Angela. But, I don’t know, I might be wrong. I just call her New Girl.”

Without another word, he revved his motorcycle and took off down a dirt trail toward the city, leaving me in a cloud of dust. I watched him speed away for a moment, so confused with what’d just happened.

“Okay,” I said to nobody. “Don’t worry about me. I'll be fine. I’ll just walk home.”